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Friday, April 5, 2013

How to make it as a Chef

If you love
food and dream of making your living as a chef; it is possible to do so. There
are a number of required steps you must meet in order to make it as a chef, and
while it may call for hard work and long hours, the awaiting rewards and the
satisfaction of obtaining your ideal job can make it all worthwhile.

Like with
most things, you will have to start at the bottom and work your way up. The
best way to get a solid understanding of what you are letting yourself in for
is to witness it first hand by exposing yourself to the inner workings of a
kitchen. Get a job (or even offer your services for free) as a dish washer or
waiting staff and watch the chefs at work; you could pick up tips and ideas
that will last you a lifetime.

Practice
cooking

If you want
to work as a chef, you need to feel confident handling food. Dedicate your
spare time to cooking in your kitchen at home; working with ingredients,
experimenting with recipes and developing your own culinary style. You can
practice using certain tools and techniques and try your food on friends and
family to help you be as prepared as possible when you finally get the break as
a chef.

Take an
interest in the industry

To be a
chef, you need to know what is happening in the food industry. Keep an eye out
for developments in the news; read culinary magazines and visit nearby
restaurants to sample their cuisine. Being well informed on the issues that
matter and the state of your competition can be an extremely valuable asset.

Get
qualified

Cookery
schools may not be a necessary step in becoming a chef. It makes easier for you
to get hired by prestigious restaurants. This is not the only reason you should
consider formal training of some kind, however, as this is the perfect way to
gain an understanding of how to work with food and appreciate flavour making
your job as a chef much easier later down the line.

Know the
terms

It is easy
to say you want to be a ‘chef’, but this is actually a very broad term. A top
kitchen can have several chefs, all with different, yet equally essential roles
to play. Be it the chef de cuisine, sous chef, pâtissier or chef de party (to
name a few); you need to know which position your cooking is most suited to and
where your interest lies.

Apply for
jobs

Now that,
you have the skills, you want to get the work. If you obtained experience and
training, you would probably have build up a network of contacts within the
industry which you should utilise to your advantage. Many aspiring chefs spend
time in Europe – the culinary hotspot of the world, but wherever you wish to be
stationed, you need to start making a name for yourself and finally get that dream job.

About the author:

This post
was written by Focus Management Consultants, a leading recruitment agency based
in the UK. In addition to getting people into work, they provide regular coverage of relevant news stories concerning all things related to the trade.